Moonlight on the Water
by GolfingLioness
Summary: He felt her fingers trace his jawline and his lined cheeks, stopping in his hair for a brief moment before retreating to rest on his back. Sabrina was looking at him now, her eyes bathing in moonlight. "Sabrina", he spoke in a murmur, continuing as her gaze was directly connected with his. "Are diamonds forever?"


**Disclaimer: **None of the characters belong to me. But sometimes I do wish they did. ;)

**Author's Note**: My take on a bit of Linus and Sabrina's boat journey to Europe. Hope you enjoy reading!

**Moonlight on the Water**

Her soft fingertips touched his cheek as he embraced her, gently gliding across the wrinkles surrounding the corners of his dark brown eyes – as if she were trying to convince herself that he was real, not an illusion made of seawater and salt. For a moment, his chin rested on her shoulder, the wool of her coat ticking his skin and the smell of her perfume, with a note of soothing lavender and sultry lillies, lingering to be a part of the moment.

She smiled gleefully as she looked into his eyes; she had smiled the same way on that fateful evening in his office, when she noticed that one of the tickets for the _Liberté_ had her name on it. That time, her smile tugged at his heartstrings, because he had misled her – only then, he realised that she was happy with _him_, as strange as the thought was.; he, in turn, had never cared about her happiness – all he wanted was the deal.

He refused to admit to himself that he loved her. He had hidden his face from the bare fact, so obvious to everyone else, that he, Linus Larrabee, the cold businessman refusing to be scorched by the flames of love, had, in the space of a few days, become the prisoner of Sabrina Fairchild, the chauffeur's daughter. She was so young, so innocent, so naïve – and he was so cold, so disaffectioned, so stiff. He was ashamed of himself, ashamed because he had misled her into thinking that he wanted her as much as she'd always wanted David.

But maybe it wasn't misleading – because, as his plan was beginning to take shape, he realised he did want her as much as she'd wanted his younger brother. And now here he was, embracing her on the ship she was meant to take alone, standing on the deck she was meant to pace by herself, looking back on New York harbour as it slowly disappeared behind white-tipped, teal-coloured waves. Her voice called him back to her; it was soft, gentle and cheerful at the same time. Her beautiful brown eyes were glinting as they reflected the sunlight that dappled her cheeks.

»You came,« she said, her voice and eyes full of wonder.

Linus Larrabee had not often been without words to say – this time, confronted with the loving amazement, he was, and managed only to nod. Her smile grew wider, prompting a smile to start tugging at the corners of his own lips. Soon, both of them were laughing with joy, her arms flung around his neck, his trenchcoat flapping merrily in the Atlantic breeze.

»The unlikeliest of people made me see I couldn't let you go to Paris alone.«

»Paris is for lovers ...« Sabrina whispered into his shoulder, quietly humming the first verse of the song she'd first sung to him as they drove from New York. _La Vie En Rose_. A Life in Pink. Her voice was so sweet that night, laden with her affection for the city she'd told him so much about.

»Yes,« he said, looking at the ocean that glimmered amongst the tips of her feathery dark hair. »And this time, I plan on staying for more than thirty-five minutes.«

She had known what those words meant when he spoke them to her on the boat. And she knew what they meant now.

For a moment, they stood on the deck in silence, listening to the ship's loud horn and the waves splashing against the hull. Her head was on his shoulder, his arms pressing her slender body against his chest protectively. »Paris is an oyster,« she said dreamily, »It's hard and plain on the outside, but hides a beautiful pearl. In fact, there are many pearls – the people, the history, the arts, the restaurants, the river ... and the chestnuts, their smell so sweet when it rains.«

She raised her head and smiled at him playfully. »We must have rain in Paris!«

He smiled back at her, hesitating for the briefest of moments before dipping his face down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. »I'll do my best to buy it from heaven,« he murmured, the last word swallowed by the penetrating sound of the horn. Before the first bellow evaporated into the balmy ocean air, the horn sounded again, lamenting as New York's skyline melted into light grey sky and teal-coloured waves.

_Paris is for lovers. Her and me ... is it really possible? _

Linus Larrabee stared into the lined face gazing at him from the oval mirror, combing back his dark brown hair and letting a whiff of cologne fill the small white-tiled bathroom with an essence of mediteranean cedars. The wrinkles around his eyes, accentuated by the many business meetings and hours of looking at papers, revealed how much older than Sabrina he was; he was twice her age, and confused because of it.

Sabrina probably didn't care about it, but with him, if she chose him, a lifetime of gossip would enter her life. He didn't care if they talked about him – let them. But could he expose Sabrina to the tongues of gown-clad Long Island women? They would smile at her as she passed and grimace behind her back ... wouldn't they? Or was he simply being paranoid, imagining things? He loved Sabrina, so did it truly matter what the others were saying? They needn't go to Long Island again after all ...

He didn't know the answers to his own questions. When he was in his office, he could answer every enquiry with simple clarity – but the answers to the questions he was asking himself now could only be found at the bottom of a swamp, so thick that he could never drain it, and so vast that he could never map it. As he had told Sabrina, a fresh breath of breeze swept into the Larrabee estate when she returned from France; it also seemed that she brought much-needed rain into his personal life.

Before her, his life had been a grassy plain – the stalks of grass were his business, the only thing he cared about. His relationships with friends and women could be represented by the vivid red petals of a poppy; beautiful, but frail and short-lived. Sabrina brought rain into the dusty steppe, and trees grew – acacias and pines, sycamores and Lebanon cedars. Then the rain turned the grass into a vast swamp, its muddled waters replacing the clarity that had been Linus's life before then.

He had a hard time finding answers in a swamp – but he was grateful to Sabrina still.

As he was buttoning his white shirt and fastening the bowtie (he wouldn't have worn it if formal wear hadn't been requested for the dinner), a new thought crossed his mind. _What am I without her? Can I be without her? Do I want to be? _

He shook his head, berating himself for the questions that seemed to come from the bottom of his heart. _Don't be sentimental. It'll do you no good._

Walking out of the bathroom, he reached for his black suit jacket and exited the cabin briskly, just stepping to the left before stopping again to knock on the cabin door next to his. For a long moment, there was no answer; but then the door opened and Sabrina stood before him with a wide smile on her lips, accentuated with red lipstick. Her eyes seemed to glint with so much heavenly light that they seemed to rob the entire corridor of colour, leaving it dully black and white as it tried to oppose the tiny bits of diamonds sparkling in her orbs of rich light brown.

She was wearing a flowing beige dress ending just above the navy blue carpet covering the floor, revealing the tips of her shoes, the colour of unbleached silk. The dress left her shoulders bare; a golden pendant, shaped like a flat ring, engraved with small, intricate flowers and hanging on a thin silver necklace, rested just below the hollow on the base of her neck. He had expected to see embroidery on the lower part of the dress, like the flowers he'd seen that evening on the tennis courts; but this time, there was nothing but clear beige, which only added to the air of youthful elegance surrounding her.

He was just about to compliment her as she excused herself suddenly, rushing back into her cabin. As she emerged again, she was draping a wide, veil-like, light grey scarf around her shoulders. Small tinsels were woven into the cloth, reminding him once again of diamonds. As if she were reading his mind, she asked with a wide, playful smile: »Do you like my diamonds?«

He feigned thoughtfulness. »Of course ... but there's a large diamond that makes them hide in shame.«

She didn't bother with hiding her surprise; she hadn't expected such words, and, seeing as they were spoken in a completely level tone, failed to take them for light-hearted implying. »Where is this large diamond, Linus?«

He couldn't resist smiling as he answered. »Right in front of me.«

This time, she understood, and smiled with a red flush creeping up her cheeks. Before she could say more, he offered her his hand, and they walked down the carpeted corridor, towards the smooth sound of orchestra music.

After they had had dinner, Sabrina insisted that they go to the upper deck; no pleas were needed to make Linus grant her wish. He loosened his bowtie as they stood by the rail, gazing out at the vast expanse of dark blue ocean. A puff of breeze got lost amongst the watercombed strands of his dark hair, trying to force them apart and dance with them as it sought a way out. A different breath toyed with Sabrina's feathery hair the same way, but while it left him looking uncombed and ruffled, it left her looking youthful, even gleeful as she smiled at his appearance and reached out with her hands to sweep the dark strands back into their place.

He could only hear faint notes of the music that was being played downstairs, and caught only solitary words of the conversations held by other people on the deck. The sounds of the ocean covered it all; the smooth lapping of the water against the hull, the whistling of the breeze as it ran across the railing and got caught amongst the lines of Chinese lanterns hanging from the main masts. A lone seagull cried out as it flew past them, disappearing rapidly behind thick layers of blueish darkness.

Sabrina was talking about Paris, about coffee and croissants, about the Eiffel Tower and the Seine. He listened attentively, speaking only little himself, watching her eyes glitter as the city she adored appeared before her mind's eye. She took the pictures it gave her and painted them out with words in every single detail, longing for him to see what she had seen. He watched her happiness in silence, encouraging her to speak on with nods. Her happiness made him happy, too, a bubble of joy about to burst in his heart. Some far end of his mind still found it hard to believe, as if the woman in front of him were an illusion. _She's going to Paris, with me. And she's happy. _

He recognised the song as soon as the orchestra played the first few notes. The waves added their voice to the smooth singing of the instruments, but there was no doubt – it was the song the band had played that evening, as they were brought together on the tennis courts by Linus's younger brother, David. That evening, Sabrina had expressed her wish to dance to the tune with David – Linus danced with her instead, telling her it was all in the family.

Sabrina heard the song too, and turned to him expecantly. »Shall we go downstairs?« He asked, and was surprised to see her shaking her head. »I'd like to dance here ... under the stars. The diamonds.« Linus smiled faintly – the diamonds he'd mentioned casually seemed to be becoming a symbol, an expression both were starting to use to bind earthly things to their feelings.

He said nothing as he stepped up to her, touching his right hand to the left side of her waist. One of her bare arms draped across his back, her other hand clasped by the other of his. She rested her head on his shoulder, his lined cheek pressed against the smooth skin of her forehead. Her hair tickled his face, her eyelashes batting against his jawline.

They started moving slowly, not really caring for the rhythm of the song once it had given them the excuse to dance; their steps seemed to follow the murmuring of the Atlantic waves. After a while, Linus raised his gaze to meet her eyes, and found them closed. Moonlight illuminated the curves of her face, painting faint silhouettes of her eyelashes onto her unblemished, pale skin. Above them, somebody was lighting the Chinese lanterns; the one directly above them was pale pink, and as a small flame sprung to life inside it, Sabrina's face bathed in soft pink light, accentuated by the clear light of the moon.

Only then, Linus noticed that she was humming softly; he knew the tune.

He planted a gentle kiss onto her forehead, holding her in his arms as he gazed at the stars; now that Sabrina had pointed it out to him, they really did seem like tiny diamonds, sparkling with the same alluring, yet cold light. More diamonds were sparkling in Sabrina's scarf, that had slipped from her right shoulder. Reaching up with his hand to tuck it back in place, Linus noticed that some of tinsels had broken loose from the fabric and stuck to his skin, then remained on Sabrina's cheek as his fingertips caressed it. _She's a diamond, _he mused again. _Am I worthy of her? Of her light, her devotion?_

Suddenly, he felt her fingers trace his jawline and his lined cheeks, stopping in his hair for a brief moment before retreating to rest on his back. Sabrina was looking at him now, her eyes bathing in moonlight. »Sabrina,« he spoke in a murmur, continuing as her gaze was directly connected with his. »Are diamonds forever?«

She understood. She smiled with a happy sigh, touching her lips to his without speaking beforehand. Her touch felt like the brush of a butterfly's tender wings, and it was just as brief. She drew back only slightly, their cheeks nearly touching; he noticed that some of the tinsels were clinging to the bridge of her nose, like freckles.

»They are,« she whispered, "They are."


End file.
